Flame set to arrive as more voices join chorus for postponement of Games

Tokyo: The Olympic flame from Greece is set to arrive in Japan even as the opening of the Tokyo Games in four months is in doubt with more voices suggesting the event should to be postponed or cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The flame touches down Friday aboard a white aircraft painted with the inscription 'Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay' along its side, and 'Hope Lights Our Way' stenciled near the tail section.

Everything about the arrival ceremony at the Matsushima air base in northern Japan will be subdued. The flame is to be greeted by a few dignitaries, saluted by a flyover from an aerial acrobatic team -- if weather permits -- and then used to ignite a cauldron.

Visit to prefectures first

The burning vessel will be displayed in three northern prefectures before the official relay begins on March 26 from Fukushima prefecture, which was devastated nine years ago by an earthquake, tsunami and the meltdown of three nuclear reactors.

Thousands of people from the region are still in temporary housing and life has not returned to normal for many. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes to use the Olympics to crown his run as Japan's longest serving premier, and many suggest he may not be around if the Games are put off and the economy slumps.

Small victory

Getting the flame to Japan represents a small victory for the International Olympic Committee and local organizers, who maintain the Olympics will open as scheduled on July 24 and be followed by the Paralympics on Aug. 25.

Even if they don't, the burning flame could be used as a symbol -- particularly if the games are eventually delayed -- and a rallying point for the Japanese public.

The four-month torch relay could be fraught with problems, particularly for sponsors Coca-Cola and Toyota, which have invested millions for the publicity. The torch relay tradition dates from Adolph Hitler's 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

The torch relay in Greece, following the symbolic lighting on March 12, was stopped during the second day and did not resume because of large crowds.

Tokyo organizers have stripped most of the festivities from the relay, and have asked roadside crowds to be ``restrained'' and keep their distance from others. If this does not happen, organizers say they could stop the relay, or delay it.

Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto has struggled to explain exactly how reserved crowds are expected to be.

"We don't want to talk about the definition of refraining,'' he said. ``But we don't want people to feel there is an all-out blanket request for refraining. So basically it depends on you interpretation.''

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